


If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more

by Stonewoodgelfling



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Brea is oblivious, Dorks in Love, F/M, First Kiss, Hair Braiding, Kylan is oblivious, Mutual Pining, Naia plays wingman, Seladon is a good sister for once, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26406571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stonewoodgelfling/pseuds/Stonewoodgelfling
Summary: Kylan is one of the greatest song-tellers in Thra, but what happens when he can’t find the words to tell Brea how he feels?
Relationships: Brea/Kylan (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more

**Author's Note:**

> “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more” - Emma, By Jane Austen

The Vapran Princess by Kylan of Sami Thicket

_“Green of eyes and fair of skin,_

_Her lips are sweet as mini katnies_

_Her hair pale moon-“_

No. No, no, no. Kylan ripped out the page and crushed it in his hands. Pale moonlight? Could he be anymore cliche?

He took the crumbled page and tossed it into the hearth.

He’d have to try again. Come up with something better.

Something Brea would like, something that would make her understand how he felt.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, resting his eyes only for a moment while he tried to make the words come to him.

He thought back to their trip to the crystal dessert, when that Dousan sandmaster had flirted with Brea. Kylan hadn’t thought much of it at the time, he barely knew the princess, even if he did have some inkling that Thra had connected their fates somehow. He thought their connection was because of the resistance, that Thra was drawing Kylan to her because of what Aughra had said in the dreamspace. But now he knew it called him to her for a different reason.

Back then, Kylan had not been concerned by Brea’s relations with the Dousan. Now, it was all he could think about.

How could he ever come up with anything close to “ the most beautiful dessert flowers are often the most dangerous“?

Rek’yr had a way with words, as well as being a fierce fighter and a great leader. He couldn’t compete with that.

Kylan was not a warrior, or a leader, he was a song-teller and he had always prided himself on his ability to write, but now he couldn’t even do that.

There was something about Brea, about her beauty, about her laugh, about the way her eyes twinkled when she told Kylan some obscure fact from one of her books - that left him completely speechless.

For once in his life he could not conjure up the words to describe what he felt and it left him powerless.

He sat there for a moment, almost willingly the words to come to him, but nothing.

Feeling like fresh air, Kylan opened the window. He looked up at the sky to see the third sister had already reached its peak: it was getting late.

He could write something tomorrow, tonight he would have to rest.

The next morning Kylan awoke to the sound of someone tapping on the door, followed by the familiar sound of Brea’s voice.

“Can I come in?” She called. “I need to talk to you”

Kylan sat up and looked around, his hut was still messy from the night before: pieces of paper and clothes strewn across the floor. He also realised he wasn’t properly dressed. Last night he had been so tired when he got into bed he could hardly be bothered getting into his nightclothes, instead opting to remove most of his layers and toss them on the floor. The climate in Sami Thicket was hot enough that he didn’t have to worry about sleeping partially undressed, except he usually didn’t have to worry about visitors either. Brea knocked on the door again, and Kylan quickly grabbed his pants and put them on.

“I’m coming in” she said. “Please be decent”

Kylan managed to snatch up his shirt from the floor just in time and throw it over his head before Brea stepped in.

“Oh” she said, looking him once over. “Should I come back later?”

Kylan was conscious of how disheveled he looked with nothing but his pants and undershirt on. He realised that he’d also taken his braids out last night before bed, and that his long black hair was now cascading down his shoulders.

Brea stared a little longer, her cheeks turning red.

“It’s fine” said Kylan. “What did you need?”

Brea placed down a pile of parchment she was holding down on the table in front of Kylan.

“I need you to help me write some pamphlets for the resistance” she explained. “Not all the gelfling are fully convinced”

Kylan nodded. “I can help. But why me?”

“You’re one of the few people who can write here” said Brea. “And I need someone who knows the Spriton alphabet”

“And you’re good with words” she added. “Naia told me about some of your stories about Jarra-Jen”

Kylan blushed. “She did?”

Brea nodded. “I was hoping you could write a story to inspire the gelfling to come out of hiding”

Kylan ran his fingers over the parchment and considered for a moment. Perhaps beginning a new story would break him out of this writers block he was stuck in.

“I’ll do it” said Kylan. “I’ll have it ready by tomorrow morning”

Brea beamed. “Really?” She threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over. “Thank you, Kylan”

Kylan relaxed into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes. A few seconds past, and Kylan realised they’d been hugging for too long.

He cleared his throat and Brea released him at once. “Sorry” she murmured.

As Brea pulled away, her eyes seemed to move down Kylan’s body with an expression he couldn’t quite place.

He felt self-conscious and tucked a strand of his long hair behind his ear.

“I’m sorry about the state of the room” he said. “I was tired last night”

Brea shook her head. “No, no. It’s fine, really.”

Her eyes drifted back to his hair again. Curiously, she reached out and grabbed a strand in her hands. Kylan was unsure how to react.

“Do you want me to braid it for you?” She asked, twirling the strand between her fingers.

“Oh uhm” he hesitated for a moment, finding it difficult to concentrate with Brea’s fingers so close to his skin.

Kylan nodded his head sheepishly. “Yeah”

Brea smiled and pulled him over to the chair, instructing him to sit down.

She began parting his hair, Kylan shivered a little as her fingers brushed his neck. She did the back braid first, and then moved to braid the front of his hair.

Kylan felt overly conscious of how close Brea was standing to him as she did the front braids. He looked up at her face furrowed in concentration as she folded each part over the other.

“You’re good at this” he told her.

“I used to do Tavra’s hair” said Brea, a hint of sadness tinged in her voice. “And she would do mine”

Kylan felt his stomach twist into knots at the mention of Brea’s sister. He had been there when Tavra died, watching Brea and Seladon grieve her from a distance. He had wanted to say something - offer his condolences - but he didn’t want to impose on them in her final hours.

“I’m sorry” he said.

Brea wiped a stray tear away from her eye. “It’s fine”

She finished the last braid. “There. Done”

As she pulled her hand away from Kylan he caught it in his own, catching Brea by surprise.

He stood up from his seat, still holding Brea’s hand in his own.

“You can talk to me” he told her. “About your sister. I’m here if you need”

She looked down at her hand in his, a slight blush in her cheeks.

“Kylan, I-“ she hesitated for a moment. “I-“

She looked up, eyes meeting his for a moment, and Kylan could see how conflicted she was.

She pulled her hand away from his. “Thank you”

Brea straightened her composure, shifting it to that of a Princess, wearing the same regal expression across her face that Kylan had seen Seladon wear many times.

“I should leave you be” said Brea. “I’m sure you have much work to do”

Kylan nodded silently, turning his head away from hers.

She stood there for a moment, almost as if she was unsure of her own decision, before turning on her heel and leaving, the door creaking behind her as she closed it.

For the rest of the afternoon, Kylan ran over the events of that morning in his mind. Had he been too forward with Brea? Or not forward enough?

Kylan was plagued by so much anxiety he could hardly sit down to write the new Jarra-Jen story he’d agreed to. He had tried reading through some of his old stories, hoping it would give him inspiration, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Brea.

As the day drew on, he decided to go to the mess hall, sitting besides the fire pit had always helped him write.

Living in Sami Thicket, it was hard not to find inspiration, it was always bustling and full of life. Even now, as he stepped outside his hut there were hundreds of gelfling and podlings preparing for the feast, lining the tables with food and drink.

Kylan weaved his way through the podling cooks as he made his way to the fire pit with his notebook in hand.

Many of the childlings of Sami Thicket began to crowd around him when they saw him, asking him to play them a song.

He only shook his head and gave them a friendly smile. “Not tonight” he said. “Tonight I’ve come to write a special Jarra-Jen tale”

“Will you let us read it when you’re done?” One of the small girl childings asked.

Kylan nodded. “Of course. Now make room”

He squeezed his way past them over to the fire pit, and sat on one of the large stones placed around it.

He opened his notebook and began to browse through some of the stories.

‘Jarra-Jen and the hunter’ had always been popular with crowds. But of course, the hunter was dead now so it was no use. He could no longer inspire fear.

‘Jarra-Jen and the dew tree’ was one of Kylan’s favourites, but a romance story was hardly fit for inspiring rebellion.

He’d have to come up with something entirely different, something new.

He got to work brainstorming a few ideas, glancing every now and then at the fire half hoping it would give him the answer somehow.

“Can I sit with you?” Asked a voice behind him, startling him out of his thoughts.

He spun around to see Brea leaning down towards him.

“Brea!” He said. “You startled me!”

She smiled and sat down beside him. “Wouldn’t be the first time. What are you reading?”

She pointed down at his notebook.

“Just some of my old stories.” He told her. “I came down here to find some inspiration. And you?”

“Needed fresh air” she said. “I’m grateful to Maudra Mera for letting us stay. But it’s difficult sharing a hut with the other girls”

Kylan had been lucky that Mera was his adoptive mother when they had sought sanctuary from the skeksis in Sami Thicket. Kylan already had his own hut that he had left behind when he joined the resistance, but the others were forced to share what communal huts were available.

“You can come stay in mine” said Kylan, without thinking.

Brea turned bright pink. “Oh”

Kylan was grateful that his darker skin usually concealed his blush, but for the silverling there was no way of hiding. Instead she turned her head away from him in the hope he wouldn’t notice.

“Have you come up with a story yet?” Brea asked, desperate to change the conversation.

“No, no not yet” he answered. “I was reading through my old ones”

Brea looked down at the notebook which sat open on Kylan’s lap.

“Could I read some of them?”

Kylan felt a little embarrassed, but nodded and handed the notebook over anyway.

It did not take Brea long to finish the whole notebook, being the skilled reader that she was. She looked up from the book and smiled.

“They’re good” she said. “My favourite is Jarra-Jen and the dew tree”

“That’s mine too!” Said Kylan.

“You should make something like that for the pamphlets” she suggested.

Kylan heard the familiar sound of the horn being blown, and quickly got to his feet.

“It’s time for the feast” said Kylan, holding his hand out to Brea. “Come on”

She took his hand and he guided her over to the table to sit down.

Gelfling and poding alike began to flood the dinning hall, some of them stopping by to greet Kylan or ask him for a song.

Seladon came over to their table, weaving her way through the crowd of Spritons, she easily stood out amongst them with her blonde hair and silk gown. It seemed that loosing the title of All-Maudra hadn’t prevented her from dressing like it.

“Brea, Maudra Mera has invited us to sit at her table” she said.

“Oh” Brea looked over at Kylan and then back at Seladon. “Tell her I’m grateful but I’m happy to sit here”

Seladon huffed. “Brea, a Maudra has asked y-“

“I want to sit here.” Brea insisted. “Please, Seladon?”

Seladon looked ready to retort, but one look at Brea’s pleading eyes and she sighed and gave in. “Alright”

Brea smiled and stood up to kiss her sister on the cheek. “Thank you!”

Seladon looked a little stunned, but quickly regained her composure, turning on her heel and walking towards the Maudren table.

The horn sounded again, and people began to line up to get their food.

“Come on” said Kylan. “Food is this way”

Brea followed him and joined in the line behind the other gelfling.

Lining the table was an array of Spriton delicacies: sweet cherry squash, nebrie milk pudding, diced root broth.

Some of the Vapran paladins in front of them turned their noses up at the food, Kylan realised they were probably not used to food other than Vapran cuisines.

Brea eyed the food curiously, but she didn’t seem as disgusted as her other clan members, who muttered some colourful words under their breath.

As much as they tried to heal the rift between the clans it wasn’t easy, and many had been uncooperative. Even Kylan’s own clan members had given him strange looks when they saw him around Brea.

Now the Vapran paladins were looking at them the same way, whispering things to each other.

Brea seemed oblivious too it, and was too preoccupied contemplating what she should have for dessert.

“We should sit down” said Kylan, taking Brea’s hand.

“Hmm? Oh. Just let me grab one last thing”

She grabbed a mini Katnie from the table. “Okay. Done”

They sat back down on the table with their food, Brea hesitantly trying the squash.

“Are you enjoying Sami Thicket?” He asked.

Brea nodded enthusiastically. “It’s lovely here. Although I’m disappointed there’s no library, I’m dying for something to read”

“You can borrow some of my books” said Kylan. “Maudra Mera always gets me books for my name day. I have lots, although I’m sure no where near as many in Ha’rar’s library”

“Perhaps you could show me after this” suggested Brea. “I could come by your hut”

Kylan blushed. “Of course”

A stout gelfling carrying a casket approached them, Kylan recognised him as a Sifan trader he’d seen at the market before.

The man did a small bow before Brea, and held up the casket in front of her.

“Some nectar wine for the princess?” He offered. “It’s the finest in Thra, we had it brought in from the Drenchen swamps”

Brea anxiously glanced over to the Maudren table where Seladon sat, and noticing that she was preoccupied, offered up her empty cup.

“Of course” she said.

He poured the wine into her cup and Brea took a sip, at first making a face before quickly putting on a smile and pretending to enjoy it.

“Thank you, it’s delicious” she lied. “Kylan, would you like some?”

He shook his head. “No thank you”

The trader smiled and bowed his head. “As long as it makes the princess happy”

Many other gelfling came over to offer Brea gifts throughout the feast: Jewellery, poetry, potions. Even a Podling came by their table to give her a flower.

Brea smiled at every one and graciously accepted their gifts, but never let the conversation go further than that.

As Kylan watched them all come and go he tried to hide his jealousy, he knew that he would have to tell Brea how he felt soon.

Eventually they stopped coming, but Kylan couldn’t help but glance at Brea throughout the feast.

“Can I ask you something?” She said suddenly, putting down her nectar wine.

Kylan nodded. “Anything”

“How come you don’t sit on the Maudren table? Isn’t Mera your mother?”

“Oh uhm, Mera is only my adoptive mother” he explained.

“Oh” she murmured.

Kylan paled. Had Brea thought he was an actual prince?

Is that why she had spent so much time with him? Kylan had thought it strange that a princess would want to be friends with a mere song-teller.

“What happened to your parents?” She asked. “If you don’t mind me asking”

Kylan remembered the night his parents died, when the hunter had come into their home in the middle of the night, almost like a ghost, and snatched his parents away.

That night had been so many trine ago and yet it felt as if it happened yesterday.

“The hunter-“ Kylan paused for a moment. “Skekmal...he...he killed them”

Brea reached under the table to take his hand.

“I’m sorry”

There was once a time when Kylan would have shuddered hearing Skekmal’s name, now the hunter felt like a nightmare of his past.

“It’s okay” said Kylan. “He’s gone now”

Kylan had been far too preoccupied at the battle of stone-in-the-wood to fully process the Hunter’s death, but he had thought about it a lot since they came to Sami Thicket. He felt he could finally rest, even if he couldn’t give his parents a proper funeral rite. Sometimes in his nightmares the hunter returned again, back from the dead like he had been at the battle, but even those dreams had started to fade away over time.

Suddenly, Kylan felt a hand on his shoulder, nearly startling him out of his seat.

“Hey lovebirds!” A familiar voice called behind them.

They both spun around.

“Gurjin!” They shouted in union.

Gurjin grinned. “Come on, everybody’s dancing!”

Gurjin pulled them out of their seats, both of them yelping like fizzgigs as he did. Kylan had forgotten just how strong the Drenchen was, and now that he’d recovered fully from his torture he could lift both Brea and Kylan with ease.

Gurjin took them each by the arm and pulled them into the space where everyone was dancing.

The Spriton were showing the other gelfling how to do their traditional clan dance, and the other gelfling were listening attentively and somewhat awkwardly attempting to follow the moves.

Gurjin brought them over to where Naia and Rian were standing, the latter doing his best not to look miserable despite missing Deet.

“Do you know how to dance?” Brea asked Kylan. “Could you show us”

She pointed over to the group of Spriton gelfling who were teaching everyone.

“Oh well uh sure?”

Truthfully Kylan wasn’t a very good dancer, but he knew enough of it to show them.

“It’s called the Landstrider leap” explained Kylan.

He showed them the basic moves first, which they mastered pretty easily. Lastly he showed them how to do the leaps. The Spriton were the most lithe of the gelfling, so gliding through the air came with ease to them, but for other clans it was a little more difficult.

Despite claiming to be a bad dancer, Rian learnt the fastest, seeming to move with ease as he jumped. Stonewood dance styles were similar to the Spriton, so that was no surprise. Brea and Naia were learning slowly, their jumps were a little unsteady but they both landed firmly on their feet. Gurjin struggled the most, falling on his first attempt to jump.

He groaned as he hit the ground. “In sog, our dancing doesn’t involve so much jumping”

“Stonewood dancing involves jumping” said Rian. “And swords”

Kylan paled. “Jumping with swords?”

“It’s called the fizzgig dance”

Kylan didn’t understand what fizzgigs had to do with it, he had never seen a fizzgig carrying a sword.

“Well, we call our dance the unimoth twirl” explained Brea. “And it needs two people”

She held out her hand to Kylan. “I’ll show you”

Kylan took her hand and she pulled him towards her.

Brea leaned in close to him, making Kylan blush.

She guided his hand towards her waist and put her own hand on his shoulder. Kylan tried not to think about her hands, or where his hands were for that matter. Instead he tried to focus all his attention into following her instructions.

“Now we take a few steps” said Brea, showing Kylan the steps. “And then we twirl”

Kylan tried to follow the steps, and at first he seemed to be doing well. But when he finally looked up from his feet and his face met Brea’s he lost all concentration.

They made eye contact now and Kylan couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty she was.

Brea smiled. “You’re doing good”

As they went to twirl Kylan got distracted and lost his balance, sending them both tumbling unceremoniously to the ground.

Brea landed on top of Kylan, pinning him to the ground.

When she realised she tried to get up but her long dress had become caught under Kylan and she was pulled back down again. Their faces were close now, almost bumping noses. Kylan could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Brea’s cheeks turned red and she quickly turned her head the other way.

Gurjin burst into laughter while Naia and Rian came over to help Brea up.

Naia pulled the end of the dress out from under Kylan while Rian helped Brea to her feet.

Kylan quickly got up. “Sorry”

“It’s alright” said Brea.

They exchanged a few uncomfortable glances which Naia caught sight of. At first Kylan thought she was going to say something, instead she turned to Rian and Gurjin.

“Let’s go get some dessert” she suggested. “Come on”

Naia left with Gurjin and Rian in tow, giving Kylan a thumbs up and wink on her way.

“You were going to show me those books” Brea reminded him. “In your hut”

Kylan blushed. “Oh right, of course uhm”

Brea walked with him back to his hut in silence, Kylan was grateful the darkness concealed his face and that Brea could not see his expression.

He brought her in to the hut and showed her the corner where he kept his library. Brea’s face lit up when she saw it, and she immediately rushed over to inspect the books.

“I’m sure you’ve already read most of these” he said.

Brea shook her head. “No, not at all. I’ve never seen these before”

She held up a collection of books in her hands, Kylan recognised them as the Jarra-Jen collection Mera had gotten him for his 15th name day.

“You’ve never read a Jarra-Jen story before?” He asked incredulously. “Not even in Ha’rar library?”

Brea rolled her eyes. “Of course I’ve read a Jarra-Jen tale, every childling in Thra knows of his fight with Creghel, but not these tales”

Brea sat down on the floor of the hut with her legs crossed and opened the first book in her lap.

Kylan thought it strange that a princess of Ha’rar would choose to sit down in the dirt rather than pulling up a chair, but of course Brea was no ordinary princess.

Kylan knelt down beside her, pulling his own book from the shelf to read. They sat like that for a while, reading together. Every now and then Kylan would steal a glance at Brea, and she at him, but would quickly look away when the other noticed.

Finally, Brea looked up.

“It’s cold” she said. “Do you think we could light the fire?”

Kylan could only feel a slight chill, but he got up anyway. He started piling the wood pieces in the hearth, but for some reason he couldn’t light it.

Brea came over to help.

“Here” she said, taking the flint and steel from his hands. “You’re supposed to create more friction”

She demonstrated to him what she meant, striking the steel against the flint and igniting the wood in the hearth.

“How does a Vapran Princess know how to start a fire?” Kylan asked, surprised.

“I’ve read a lot of books about it” she said. “There are many books on survival in the library”

Brea cozied up to the fire, her book still in hand.

She patted the dirt beside her, indicating for Kylan to come join her.

“Do you miss it?” He asked. “Ha’rar?”

“Of course” she said. “But it’s nice to be away from it too, I spent so much time reading about the world I hardly found the time to see it”

Kylan nodded. He had been the same too, always reading about the adventures of Jarra-Jen, but too scared to make an adventure of his own. Until now, of course. The rebellion had changed everything, Kylan knew he’d never be the same person he was before.

“When all this is over, I’d like to go back” said Brea. “Sleep in my own bed again. But for now I have to go wherever the rebellion takes me”

Kylan wondered, after all this was over, if Brea could just slip back into her life as princess. Her sister was no longer All-Maudra, at least not in title, they had decided the rebellion could only survive if the clans were equals. But she was still a Maudra, and royalty was royalty, it would not surprise anyone if they chose to move back into the citadel.

“What about you?” Brea asked. “What will you do when this is all over?”

Kylan had honestly never thought that far ahead. He had never really fit in at Sami Thicket, and although she had tried, Mera had never been much of a mother to him. He couldn’t imagine himself being able to return to his life here, not after everything that had happened this past trine. He would never be fully satisfied with falling back into his old routine.

“I don’t think I could stay in Sami Thicket” he admitted. “I’m not sure what I’ll do”

“You could come to Ha’rar” suggested Brea. “We have enough spare rooms in the citadel, and there’s so many books in the library you could read.”

Kylan imagined living in the castle, it was certainly not the Jarra-Jen adventure he was picturing, but it would finally give him the opportunity to share his stories. After all, who better to record the rebellion than one who witnessed it first hand?

“Do you think Seladon would mind?” He asked.

“Of course not, we’d drive each other crazy if it were just the two of us” said Brea. “Besides, I think our librarian will be joining the Sifa soon”

Kylan perked up. “You mean...I’d be the new Librarian?”

Brea smiled. “If you wanted to”

Kylan swelled with joy. It was more than just a title, Ha’rar’s library was filled with the most ancient texts in gelfling history, preserving them was an honour not given lightly.

Kylan’s happiness was interrupted, however, when he remembered the Vapran guards from the feast. He recalled the disgusted looks they gave them, would every day be like that in Ha’rar?

“Why me?” Kylan asked. “I’m just a song-teller”

“Because” said Brea, leaning in close and taking his hand in hers. “You’re my friend.”

As the soft glow from the fireplace illuminated her features, Kylan could see a sincerity in the flames flickering in her eyes.

“Am I?” He asked, looking down at their entwined hands.

Brea nodded.

Kylan had wanted to tell her how what he felt was more than that, but what came out of his mouth was nothing but incoherent noises. Brea had gotten closer now, and any and all thoughts or ability to articulate them was completely lost.

She tilted her head a little and came closer, just as her lips began to brush his, he jerked back, almost as if by instinct.

He stood up quickly, closing the book in his lap. “I should go to bed” he said. “It’s getting late. I’m sure Seladon will be worried about you”

He cast his eyes towards the fire, hoping to avoid looking at her, but somehow she kept drawing him back in. When his eyes finally met hers he instantly regretted what he’d said.

She got up, cheeks flush with embarrassment, and handed him back his book.

“Goodnight” she murmured, turning away from him.

Kylan watched as she walked out the door and disappeared into the night, her long silver hair fading into the darkness.

Unable to sleep and plagued by thoughts of Brea, Kylan stayed up all night writing. He decided he would put all his energy into his new Jarra-Jen story, and cast aside any and all thoughts of her.

By the time he was done his vision had begun to blur, and Kylan was starting to get hungry.

After reading it once over, he rolled up the parchment and left his hut to get breakfast.

Outside the the dawn was beginning to break, it was just light enough that Kylan could see without his lamp.

On the horizon, the first brother had begun to awaken, stretching his arms out across the fields of grass and chasing away the darkness. The creatures of Thra had begun to awaken too, coming out to greet the first rays of sunlight.

He made his way through the fields, the morning dew clinging to his bare skin.

He looked towards the feast hall, still shrouded in twilight, where not a single gelfling could be seen.

Most of Sami Thicket’s residents were still in bed sleeping soundly, tucked in with their loved ones. He felt a keen sense of loneliness as he looked out at the rows of empty tables.

But there was one person, a figure he glimpsed out in the distance. He stood for a moment, trying to make out their appearance in the morning light.

Near the dying embers of the campfire sat Brea, still dressed in her nightgown, an ink quill in her hands as she poured over her notebook.

Kylan approached slowly, his hands shaking a little as he tapped her on the shoulder.

She stood up suddenly and turned to face him, knocking the ink bottle to the ground. “Kylan!”

Looking at her now under the morning light of the three brothers, Kylan could see how disheveled she was. Her gown was stained black by the charcoal from the fire, her hands covered with ink, and her long silver hair was a mess. Despite her appearance, Brea still seemed every bit of a princess as ever.

“What are you doing?” He asked, eyes drifting towards the parchment beside her.

“I was just writing” she said. “I couldn’t sleep all night”

“Me either” he admitted.

Brea looked down, nervously fiddling with her hands.

“Kylan, I-“ she began. “I’m sorry about last night”

“Oh”

Did she regret it?

“I shouldn’t have behaved like that” she told him. “It was probably the nectar wine”

Kylan felt a tender pain in his chest. Of course it was the nectar wine, why else would she have tried to kiss him?

“Oh, right...yes” he murmured. “The wine”

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, Brea looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact with him.

“I didn’t mind” he blurted out. “I mean...uhm- it was okay with me”

She looked up, a glint of hope in her eyes. “It was?”

He nodded and bit his lip. “Of course”

Brea smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Kylan noticed a small ink smudge on her cheek, he reached out and wiped it away with his thumb. His hand lingered there for a while, cupping her face.

“Kylan” she said softly. “What are you doing?”

“Brea” he said slowly. “Brea, I-“

“I-“ Kylan could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“What is it?” She asked. “What is it you want to tell me?”

“I can’t make speeches” He took a deep breath. “If I loved you any less, maybe I could talk about it more but I-”

“You love me?” Brea interrupted.

Kylan froze. “Yes, I-“

Before he could finish, Brea took his face in her hands and kissed him. He stood there, stunned for a moment, before he eagerly returned her kiss, pulling her into his embrace.

Finally, they pulled apart.

Finally, they pulled apart.

“I love you” he said.

Brea smiled. “I know”

She took his hand and intertwined it with hers. They stood for a moment, basking in each other’s presence, until Kylan spoke up.

“Can I kiss you again?”

Brea laughed softly, and leaned in to kiss him once again.

The three brothers had risen now, and Kylan knew it was only a matter of time before the residents of Sami Thicket began to fill the mess hall, but for now he was happy to stay wrapped in her embrace.


End file.
